Barbed wire machine

ABSTRACT

A single strand barbed wire machine has a pair of continuously driven wire forming rollers which flatten the main strand along its entire length except for pairs of closely spaced unflattened portions between which barbs are wound. A box like frame has a motor driven central main shaft on which is mounted a cam and transmission means which drives the wire forming roller shafts mounted at one end of the frame and a friction coupled takeup reel mounted at the other end. A cam driven arm is pivotally mounted to have a follower riding on the cam and to have a vertical upstanding portion. Two upstanding arms within the frame have their tops connected by a horizontal bar, a mid-portion of the bar being connected to the upper end of the cam drive arm. An endmost of the upstanding arms is spring biased to hold the cam follower against the cam. Exterior upstanding arms outside the frame and on common shafts with the interior upstanding arms have wire pulleys at their upper ends so that the main strand is fed outward about one pulley and over the other pulley to be withdrawn inward therefrom while the pulleys oscillate at a rate to provide intermittent motion of the wire therebetween. A barb winding assembly disposed between the pulleys is driven by and thus synchronized to the central main shaft to wind barbs on the main strand while it is at rest.

United States Patent 191 Donche-Gay Nov. 25, 1975 BARBED WIRE MACHINE [75] inventor: Pierre Donche-Gay, Buenos Aires,

Argentina {73] Assignee: American Engineering Company,

Limited, Nassau, Bahamas [22] Filed: July 8, 1974 [21] App1.No.1486,389

Primary ExaminerLowell A. Larson Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Peter L. Tailer [57} ABSTRACT A single strand barbed wire machine has a pair of continuously driven wire forming rollers which flatten the main strand along its entire length except for pairs of closely spaced unflattened portions between which barbs are wound. A box like frame has a motor driven central main shaft on which is mounted a cam and transmission means which drives the wire forming roller shafts mounted at one end of the frame and a friction coupled takeup reel mounted at the other end. A cam driven arm is pivotally mounted to have a fol lower riding on the cam and to have a vertical upstanding portion. Two upstanding arms within the frame have their tops connected by a horizontal bar, a mid-portion of the bar being connected to the upper end of the cam drive arm. An endmost of the upstand ing arms is spring biased to hold the cam follower against the cam. Exterior upstanding arms outside the frame and on common shafts with the interior upstanding arms have wire pulleys at their upper ends so that the main strand is fed outward about one pulley and over the other pulley to be withdrawn inward therefrom while the pulleys oscillate at a rate to provide intermittent motion of the wire therebetween. A barb winding assembly disposed between the pulleys is driven by and thus synchronized to the central main shaft to wind barbs on the main strand while it is at rest.

2 Claims, 22 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Nov. 25, 1975 Sheet1of5 3,921,680

FIG. 2

3A za US. Patent Nov.25, 1975 Sheet2of5 3,921,680

U.S. Patent Nov. 25, 1975 Sheet 3 of5 3,921,680

' FIG.15

FIG. 17

FIG. 16

US. Patent Nov. 25, 1975 Sheet 4 of 5 3,921,680

FIG. 20

U.S. Patent Nov.25, 1975 SheetSofS 3,921,680

FlG.21

FIG. 22

BARBED WIRE MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is an improvement on the barbed wire machine which is the subject of my U.S. Pat. No. 3.396.759 issued Aug. 13, 1968.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1 and 2 are. respectively, from and top views of a barbed wirernachine according to my invention;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 33 of FIG. 4, showing drive means within the barbed wire machine;

FIGv 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 4-4 of FIG. I, the section being shown inverted;

FIGS is a front view of a barb winding assembly having a barb winding head. two barb wire guides, two barb wire feed units. a cut-off knife, and two guide pulleys;

FIG. 6 is a section taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal. axial section through one wire forming roller and a fragment of a co-acting roller;

FIG. 8 is a back view of a wire forming roller;

FIG. 9 is a side view of a fragment of main strand wire formed by the barbed wire machine of my invention;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are, respectively. sections taken on lines 10-10 and llIl of FIG. 9;

FIG. I2 is a section taken on line I2I2 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view ofa fragment of the end of a barb wire guide with a fragment of a knife shown in position moving to cut a barb wire;

FIG. 14 is a side view of a fragment of a barb winding head and fragments of barb wire guides guiding barb wires to be wound about a main strand;

FIG. 15 is a section taken on line 15-15 of FIG. 5;

FIG. I6 is an enlarged fragment of a section taken on line 6--6 of FIG. I;

FIG. I7 is a vertical section taken on line l7l7 of FIG. 18;

FIG. 18 is a vertical section taken on line I8I8 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 19 is a transverse section through a barb wire formed prior to winding by the barb wire feed rollers of my invention;

FIG. 20 is a section taken on line 20-20 of FIG. 5 through the lower barb wire feed unit;

FIG. 21 is asection taken on line 21-21 of FIG. 5 through a fragment of the upper barb wire feed unit; and

FIG. 22 is a section taken on line 22-22 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 show the general appearance and arrangement of parts of the barbed wire machine of my invention. A machine frame 1 has a base 2 with front and rear walls 3 and 4. Four top panels 5, 5'. 5" and 5a and the end walls 6 and 7 join the front and rear walls 3 and 4. Front wall 3 has a box like extension 3a at its lower left side; its right half 3b is slightly closer to rear wall 4. Machine frame I is particularly strong and rigid because it has'a box like structure, best fabricated by welding suitably formed steel plates together.

Referring further to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, a main shaft 12 is journalled'in bearing 13 and bronze bushing 14 mounted, respebtively inrear and front walls4 and 3. A heavy pulley and flywheel l0 is-mounted on shaft 12 to be driven by V-bclts II and pulley 9 of motor 8. The sprocket 15 is mounted on shaft I2 and drives sprocket I6, mounted on shaft I8, by means of the chain 17. Shaft I8.journalled in front and rear walls 3 and 4, has a flywheel 20 mounted on its rear end. outside the rear wall 4. Shaft I8 carries gear 21 which meshes with gear 22, mounted on shaft 23. Shaft 23 has its rear end journalled in a spherical roller bearing fixed to a plate welded to end wall 7 and parallel to rear wall 4. The front end of shaft 23 is journalled in a spherical roller bearing which is mounted in the movable piece 25 shown in FIG. I. The wire forming rollers I9 and 24 are mounted on the forward ends of shafts I8 and 23 in front of wall 3. A screw 26 is screwed down on piece 25 to adjust the clearance between the wire forming rollers I9 and 24. The spherical roller bearings allow shaft 23 to have its alignment changed to accomplish this adjustment.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 3 and 7-12 the rollers 19 and 24 coact to feed and form the main strand 116 of the barbed wire being manufactured. A strand of wire of round cross section passes between a corresponding pair of circumferential grooves H7 or II8 to flatten the wire 116 and make it oval in section for the major distance between barbs. Two sets of grooves 117 and 118 are provided so that when one set is worn. the wire 116 may be switched to the other to double the life of the rollers I9 and 24. Two pairs of longitudinal grooves or deeper notches 119 in the circumference of the rollers I9 and 24 allow the circular cross section of the wire 116 to remain at closely spaced portions which define a section 121 of wire I16 about which barbs are to be wound. The circular portions 120 secure the wound barbs on both sides to prevent them from sliding axially while the oval or elliptical section 121 stops barbs wound thereon from rotating about main strand 116. The rollers 19 and 24 are synchronized in their rotation by the identical gears 21 and 22 so that the pairs of closely spaced notches II9 correspond.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, rollers 19 and 24 not only form main strand 116 but also advance it continuously. The barbs are wound exactly on the sections 121. of main strand 116 while it remains at rest in front of the barb winding assembly 27. If the main strand 116 is advanced continuously by rollers 19 and 24 and remains at rest in front of assembly 27, it is necessary to produce a periodic wire accumulation between rollers 19 and 24 and assembly 27. Such accumulation is accomplished by the reciprocating movement of pulleys 28 and 29, which move counterclockwise on the arms 39 and 43 while the wire 116 must remain at rest and move clockwise to make it advance again.

Synchronization between the rotating movement of rollers 19 and 24 and reciprocating movement of pulleys 28 and 29 is governed by the cam 30 mounted on main shaft 12. Cam follower 31 is journalled in one end of arm 32 which is pivotally mounted on shaft 33. The other end of arm 32 is connected by pin 35 to bar 34. Bar 34 is pivotally connected at 36 to arm 37 and at 40 to arm 41 to ensure parallel motion of the arms 37 and 41. Arm 37 is mounted on shaft 38 which is mounted in front and rear walls 3 and 4 of frame I. Outside the wall 3 arm 39 mounting pulley 28 is fixed on the front end of shaft 38. In a similar way arm 39 is mounted on shaft 42 which is journalled to front and rear walls 3b and 4. Outside of wall 3b arm 43 mounting pulley 29 is fixed on the front end of shaft 42. Consequently. pulleys 28 3 and 29 reciprocate at the same time driven by cam 30. Tension spring 44 urges cam follower 31 against cam 30 as may be seen in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, front wall 3 contains a large rectangular opening within which a barb winding assembly 27 is fixed by suitable bolts. Fixed to the front of the assembly 27 are the pulleys 91A about which barb wires 91 are directed. Also fixed to the front of the assembly 27 are two barb wire feed roller assemblies 106, the barb wire guides 109, the barb winding head 82, and the barb cut-off knives 110.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, main shaft 12 has a sprocket 73 mounted thereon. Shaft 75 is rotatably mounted in main casting assembly 27A and has a sprocket 74 mounted on it so that. by a chain 73A, main shaft 12 drives shaft 75.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 16, shaft 75 has a bevel gear 76 mounted on it. Bevel gear 76 meshes with bevel gear 77 which is mounted on main barb wire shaft 78. Shaft 78 drives the barb winding head 82 and the cut-off knives 110. Thus, assembly 27 is a self-contained unit which may easily be replaced or removed as desired. by releasing chains 52, 53 and 73A. It is to be noted that shaft 78 must make one revolution for each revolution of the main shaft 12.

The feeding of barb wires 91 must be an intermittent movement synchronized with the intermittent move ment of the main strand 116. The intermittent feeding movement of the barb wires 91 is obtained by a ratchet mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 3, arm 37 which is reciprocated by cam 30, has a link 45 connected to it. The other end of link 45 is connected to a member 46 which is pivotally mounted on shaft 49 journalled in front and rear walls of frame 1. Member 46 has a spring biased pawl 47 mounted on it to engage a ratchet wheel 48 fixed on shaft 49. Sprockets 50 are mounted on shaft 49 and drive sprockets 54 and 55 by chains 52 and 53. As sprockets 54 and 55 drive the barb wire feed units. barb wires 91 are fed intermittently driven by ratchet wheel 48. In this manner the feed of the barb wires 91 is synchronized with rotation of main shaft 12.

As shown in FIGS. 5, and 21, sprockets 54 and 55 are mounted on shafts 94 and 94' journalled in the assembly 27. Bevel gears 95 and 95' are mounted on the other ends of shaft 94 and 94' and mesh with the bevel gears 96 mounted on shafts 97. Each shaft 97 is journalled in assembly 27 and carries the gear 98 which meshes with identical gear 99 mounted on shaft 100. The shafts 97 and 100 of each barb feed roller assembly carry a pair of rollers 92 and 93. One of those rollers has at least one circumferential groove 117 to guide a barb wire 91 and assist in forming it. The upper barb wire feed roller assembly shown in FIG. 21 has a longer shaft 94' to allow bevel gear 95' to mesh with bevel gear 96 from the opposite side than in the lower assembly shown in FIG. 20 thus providing opposite rotation for shafts 97. Consequently, barb wires 91 are driven downward by the upper feed assembly and upward by the lower one.

As may be seen in FIG. 20, a lever 104 is pivotally secured at one end by a threaded knob 107 which may be positioned on stud 107 by turning it. A pivotally mounted central cam 102 may be activated by a handle 105 to force. by means of the hollow piece 106, the center of lever 104 downward and release it. The other end of lever 104, engaging an extension of bushing 101, bears down on a strong compression spring 103, and

forces the intermittently driven rollers 92 and 93 together. As shown in FIG. 19, barb wire 91 has one side 127 flattened by the ungrooved roller 92 while the other side is not deformed as it is accommodated within a groove of roller 93. Flattened side 127 of each barb wire 91 contacts the section 121 of the main strand 116 about which it is wound. Flattened barb wire 91 is more easily wound as it has a lower bending moment.

Referring now to FIGS. 5, 13 and 14, the barb wire guides 108 are clamped in brackets I15 fixed to assembly 27 by screws 114. Each wire guide 108, against which is clamped at fixed knife 109, has a longitudinal channel to accommodate a barb wire 91 issuing from between the pair of rollers 92 and 93.

As shown in FIG. 14, the barb wires 91 extend on each side of main strand "6 to be twisted or wound about it. The flat surface of each barb wire 91 should face strand 116.

Referring now to FIGS. 5, 6, 16, 17 and 18, a large gear 79, shown in FIG. 6, is mounted on shaft 78 and has a face cam 89 fixed to it. A hollow tubular spindle 81 is rotatably mounted in the barb winding head 27A. A gear is integrally formed on spindle 81 to mesh with large gear 79 and be driven by it. Thus spindle 81 rotates several times during each rotation of gear 79.

As shown in FIG. 18, a pivotally mounted arm 87!! has a cam follower roller 88 mounted on it. Spring 90, shown in FIG. 17, pivots arm 878 to urge roller 88 against face cam 89. Arm 87B is fixed on shaft 871) by a conical connection fastened by nut 87C. Shaft 870 as shown in FIG. 18, is journalled in assembly 27 and has on its outer end an arm 87A. Arm 87A has a yoke 86 fixed to it to engage a circumferential groove of the longitudinally sliding piece 85. Sliding piece mounts twisting fingers 84 and slides in hollow twisting head 82 projecting and retracting twisting fingers 84. As shown in FIG. 6, head 82 is fixed to tubular spindle 81 by the hollow screw 83. Thus it is easily dismounted when it becomes necessary to change any barb winding head part, by releasing screw 83. Since cam 89 has one high portion, the fingers 84 rotate with head 82 and are projected and retracted in it once for each revolution of shaft 78. As shown in FIG. 14, fingers 84 would be extended further to wrap the barb wires 91 about the main strand 116.

Referring now to FIGS. 5, 6, 13 and 15, an eccentric 113 is mounted on one of the ends of shaft 78. Eccentric 113 enters a rectangular opening 113A formed in the rear end of shaft 112. A knife mounting plate 111 is fixed to the other end of shaft 112. outside the assembly 27, to support the cut-off knives 110. After barbs are wound, eccentric 113 moves the knives outward or forward far enough to shear the barb wires 91 and free the wound barbs so they may be advanced with the next intermittent motion of main strand 116.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the sprocket 56, mounted on main shaft 12, drives the sprocket 57 by the chain 58. Sprocket S7 is formed integrally with gear 59 and sprocket 60 to be rotatably mounted on shaft 42. A shaft 62 is journalled in machine frame 1 to have pulley 63 mounted on it in front of wall 3b. Within frame 1, shaft 62 has a gear 61 mounted on it to be driven by gear 59. Thus pulley 63 rotates continuously driven by main shaft 12 to advance main strand 116 as shown in FIG. I.

As shown in FIG. 1, an idler pulley 122 rotatably mounted on shaft 122a has main strand 116 pass from forming rollers 19 and 24 about it to pulley 28. Pulley 63 draws wire from pulley 29. Thus wire I16 passes horizontally to and from the oscillating pulleys 28 and 29 to pass about them and remain without slack.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 22, frame l has a pulley 123 rotatably mounted on a shaft 124, projecting from support 126. Barbed wire packaging spools may be placed on reel 66 and removed when wound with barb wire. A double right and left hand thread may be provided on shaft 124 with a suitable follower yoke 125 on pulley 123 to move it from side to side evenly wind barbed wire on reel 66.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, sprocket 60 drives chain 65 and thereby sprocket 64, which is rotatably mounted on the shaft 67 to which reel 66 is fixed. As shown in FIG. 22, two hand wheels 72 may be screwed along shaft 67 to urge a compression spring 71 against clutch plate 70. Clutch plate 70, which is slidably fixed to rotate with shaft 67, thus bears against plate 69, which is integrally formed with sprocket 64, to drive shaft 67 as a slip clutch. Drive torque may be varied by turning hand wheels 72.

The relative timing of the various functions of this barbed wire forming machine are as follows. Rollers l9 and 24 advance wire ll6 continuously through them. while pulleys 28 and 29 are reciprocated to allow main wire 116 to intermittently stop in front of assembly 27. The barb wire feed rollers 92 and 93 begin to feed the barb wires 91 after the start of the advance of main strand 6 to allow the barb which was wound during the previous cycle to pass out of the way. The advance or feed of the main wire 116 and the barb wires 91 stop at about the same time. The winding fingers 84 are now sufficiently extended from the winding head 82 to engage and start winding the barb wires 91. The fingers 84 retract into the winding head 82 after the barb wires have been wound a desired number of turns about main strand 6. The knives "0 then move forward to shear the wound barb wires 91 and the cycle repeats itself.

While this invention has been shown and described in the best form known to me. it will nevertheless be understood that this is purely exemplary and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A barb wire machine for the manufacture of single strand barbed wire having a main strand and barbs wound at intervals thereon comprising. in combination. a pair of wire forming rollers containing co-acting circumferential grooves through which said rollers pass said main strand deforming said main strand at least in specific places where barbs are to be wound thereon. a box-like frame of said machine. a central main shaft journalled in said frame. a motor having first transmission means driving said main central shaft. a cam mounted on said main central shaft. a cam driven arm pivotally mounted at its center in said frame and having a follower to ride on said cam and having a vertical upstanding portion, two upstanding arms within said frame at opposite ends of said frame, a horizontal bar connected to the tops of said upstanding arms and said upstanding portion of said cam driven arm spring means urging one of said upstanding arms toward an end of said frame to hold said follower against said cam. exterior upstanding arms on common shafts with said upstanding arms within said frame. said exterior arms having first and second pulleys mounted thereon. a barb winding head assembly on said frame disposed between said first and second pulleys of said exterior upstanding arms. second transmission means connecting said main central shaft to said winding head assembly to drive said winding head assembly. two pairs of barb wire feed rollers on said winding head assembly. third transmission means connected between one of said upstanding arms and each pair of said barb wire feed rollers intermittently driving said pairs of barb wire feed rollers. a third idler pulley disposed above said wire forming rollers and between said exterior upstanding arms. a wire guide pulley disposed between said exterior upstanding arms. fourth transmission means between said central shaft and said wire guide pulley driving said wire guide pulley. said main strand passing from said wire forming rollers about said-third idler pulley, passing outward about said first idler pulley to extend through said winding head assembly and then about said second idler pulley. and passing inward about said wire guide pulley, a wire reel. slip clutch means, and a fifth transmission means between said central shaft and said wire reel driving said wire reel through said slip clutch means to wind barbed wire on said wire reel. said main strand being intermittently advanced through said winding head assembly between periods of rest during which barbs are wound on said main strand by said winding head assembly.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said third transmission means is a rachet. a member rotatably mounted with said rachet, a link connecting one of said upstanding arms to said member oscillating said member, a pawl mounted on said member intermittently driving said rachet, and drive means connecting said rachet to said two pairs of barb wire feed rollers intermittently driving said pairs of barb wire feed rollers. 

1. A barb wire machine for the manufacture of single strand barbed wire having a main strand and barbs wound at intervals thereon comprising, in combination, a pair of wire forming rollers containing co-acting circumferential grooves through which said rollers pass said main strand deforming said main strand at least in specific places where barbs are to be wound thereon, a box-like frame of said machine, a central main shaft journalled in said frame, a motor having first transmission means driving said main central shaft, a cam mounted on said main central shaft, a cam driven arm pivotally mounted at its center in said frame and having a follower to ride on said cam and having a vertical upstanding portion, two upstanding arms within said frame at opposite ends of said frame, a horizontal bar connected to the tops of said upstanding arms and said upstanding portion of said cam driven arm, spring means urging one of said upstanding arms toward an end of said frame to hold said follower against said cam, exterior upstanding arms on common shafts with said upstanding arms within said frame, said exterior arms having first and second pulleys mounted thereon, a barb winding head assembly on said frame disposed between said first and second pulleys of said exterior upstanding arms, second transmission means connecting said main central shaft to said winding head assembly to drive said winding head assembly, two pairs of barb wire feed rollers on said winding head assembly, third transmission means connected between one of said upstanding arms and each pair of said barb wire feed rollers intermittently driving said pairs of barb wire feed rollers, a third idler pulley disposed above said wire forming rollers and between said exterior upstanding arms, a wire guide pulley disposed between said exterior upstanding arms, fourth transmission means between said central shaft and said wire guide pulley driving said wire guide pulley, said main strand passing from said wire forming rollers about said third idler pulley, passing outward about said first idler pulley to extend through said winding head assEmbly and then about said second idler pulley, and passing inward about said wire guide pulley, a wire reel, slip clutch means, and a fifth transmission means between said central shaft and said wire reel driving said wire reel through said slip clutch means to wind barbed wire on said wire reel, said main strand being intermittently advanced through said winding head assembly between periods of rest during which barbs are wound on said main strand by said winding head assembly.
 2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said third transmission means is a rachet, a member rotatably mounted with said rachet, a link connecting one of said upstanding arms to said member oscillating said member, a pawl mounted on said member intermittently driving said rachet, and drive means connecting said rachet to said two pairs of barb wire feed rollers intermittently driving said pairs of barb wire feed rollers. 